Card carrying case



Nov. s, 1955 AUSTAD 2,722,960

CARD CARRYING CASE Filed March 20. 1953 F/G. ,0 P76. 2. 4 F/G. 3. m

Fish and I9 5 3 Game l2 Llcense John Smith Bnnentor GROVER R. AUSTAD CARD CARRYING CASE Grover R. Austad, Salt Lake City, Utah Application March 20, 1953, Serial No. 343,594

3 Claims. (Cl. 150-39) This invention relates to a windowed, attachment type of carrying case, particularly as used for displaying socalled visible licenses and other identification materials in sheet or card form.

In recent years several State governments have adopted a form of hunting and fishing license intended for attachment to and display on the outer clothing of individuals engaged in those sports, so that the license will be visible from a distance and without request for inspection by game wardens or others desiring to know whether the individuals are properly licensed.

While the idea of these so-called visible licenses is an excellent one from the standpoint of law enforcement, especially when utilized in the stamp-renewable form disclosed in my copending application for U. S. Patent Ser. No. 273,235, filed February 25, 1952, entitled Stamp- Renewable Fish and Game Permit, which form facilitates the ascertaining, from a distance, of the extent to which a holder of the license or permit is entitled to engage in the several different sports ordinarily licensed, consider: able dissatisfaction among users has arisen by reason of difficulties encountered with conventional types of windowed attachment carrying cases. These conventional cases are incapable of excluding the weather, and are inconvenient to open for access to the contents and to close thereafter. Furthermore, they are clumsy in construction, and have been found to be an encumbrance to the sportsman by reason of a tendency to catch on brush and twigs in wild and overgrown areas.

The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a handy, easily weather-proofed, and compact windowed attachment carrying case particularly adapted to protect and display visible licenses, permits, identification cards, and other papers designed to be viewed and inspected by mere observation of a person carrying same, as well as one which protectively covers and conceals the attachment fastening device, so that the latter will not be exposed to brush, twigs, and other obstacles during use.

Additionally, it is a purpose of the invention to provide the above in a form which can be produced in volume, rapidly and economically.

An outstanding feature of the invention from a structural standpoint resides in the provision of a foldable sheet of water-proof material, advantageously a durable, flexible, plastic sheet of rectangular formation, having an intermediate panel section which is transparent, and having adjoining terminal flap sections adapted to be folded over the transparent intermediate section in superimposed relationship thereon. A separate panel of preferably similar sheet material is secured in face-to-face relationship to the intermediate panel section, and is sealed thereto along at least its lateral edge margins to provide a protective pocket open along at least one of its sides which adjoin the respective terminal flap sections. Thus, the resulting case is adapted to receive a card, or other identifying sheet material to be displayed, and the tertent nice 2,722,960 Patented Nov. 8, 1%55 minal flap sections are foldable over the intermediate pocket section to protect the opening thereof and to provide for a highly advantageous anchorage and protective concealment of a fastening device. For this latter purpose, the terminal flap sections are provided with registering pairs of openings for receiving the attachment fastening device, which is advantageously a special form of safety pin, not, however, new in and of itself, except as herein indicated.

Further objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the particular preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

in the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a front face View of the case in folded condition, ready for attachment to the clothing of a user;

Fig. 2, a side elevation looking from the right of 'Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a rear face view; Fig. 4, a vertical section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, a perspective view looking from the rear and showing the case open for the reception or extraction of contents;

Fig. 6, a plan view of the case in completely unfolded condition, showing the blanked out formation of the sheet material from which the case is made;

Fig. 7, a vertical section taken along the line 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8, a horizontal section taken along the line 8-3 of Fig. 6; and v Fig. 9, a perspective view of the special type of safety pin used as a fastening device in attaching the case to the clothing.

Referring to the drawing:

The illustrated embodiment of the attachment type of carrying case of the invention is shown in Figs. 1 through 4 in its closed condition, ready for attachment to the clothing of a user or to any object or structure where it will fulfill a useful purpose. In this connection, it should be borne in mind that, while the carrying case of the invention is intended primarily for use in a visual, display" capacity, and is windowed for that purpose, the advantageous structural characteristics thereof may be found advantageous in other situations not requiring a window for observation of the contents, for example, where it is desired to provide a wallet-type of case for paper money or important papers, with provision for safety attachment of the case to the interior of a pocket in which it is carried, or to underclothing.

As illustrated, however, the carrying case 10 is provided with a window 11 through which the contents of the case can be observed at a distance, such case being especially suitable for the so-called visible licenses referred to hereinbefore.

The case 10 carries, in intimately anchored association therewith, at its rear face, a fastening device 12, which is preferably of special safety pin formation, as shown per se in Fig. 9.

In the closed condition of the carrying case, thepin member 12a and the keeper member 12b of the safety pin 12 project rearwardly of the case suiliciently to provide for convenient and secure attachment to clothing or other suitable anchorage (not shown). It will be observed from Fig. 2, that such an attachment by the safety pin 12 will securely fasten the case, with its window 11 completely exposed to view, and with the safety pin 12 completely and protectively concealed behind the body of the case as a shield.

Reverting now to the construction of the carrying case- 10 which permits the advantageous arrangement de-* re-closing thereof, in Figs. 6 and 7 it can be seen that the.

case 10 comprises a foldable base panel or sheet 13, which may be of composite sectional formation if only the window 11 is to be transparent, but which is preferably of integral section, single sheet formation, as illustrated, where the body of the case is made of the same transparent material as the window section, or in those instances mentioned above where no window is required.

The base panel or sheet 13 is of elongate, rectangular formation defining a longitudinal series of panel sections, including an intermediate, pocket-forming section 1311 and oppositely adjoining, protective flap sections 13b and 13c, respectively. The flap sections 13b and 13c are preferably the terminal sections at opposite ends of the panel, and, for ease and economy of manufacture, it is preferred that the entire panel be formed of a transparent, flexible, sheet material, such as a vinyl plastic or the like. In any event, the flap sections 13b and 13c are desirably of flexible material for the purpose of permitting manipulative deformation thereof in the insertion of the safety pin 12, as described more fully hereinafter.

Overlying a face of the intermediate panel section 13a and marginally secured thereto in face-to-face relationship, preferably by heat sealing where a plastic sheet material is employed, is a panel 14. Such panel is secured only about three of its margins, see 15, Fig. 6, being unsecured along one of those margins thereof which adjoin one of the flap sections, thereby formin a pocket with access opening. In the illustrated instance, the panel 14 is unsecured along that margin thereof which adjoins the terminal fiap section 13c, thereby defining an access opening 16 for the pocket 17.

The pocket 17 is preferably so extensive with and of the same rectangular formation as the intermediate panel section 13a, and serves to receive, through its access opening 16, a visible hunting and fishing license, identification card, or any other appropriate thing to be protectively carried within the case 1%). In the instance of a hunting and fishing license, which is usually larger than the pocket, the license is folded to provide an exposed facial area substantially corresponding in size to that of the pocket and bearing the matter required to be displayed. It is then introduced into the pocket, with such exposed facial area directly under the window 11, so as to be visible therethrough.

It is preferred to utilize, in connection with the carrying case as above described, a separable fastening device which is manufactured independently of the carrying case proper and is removably anchored thereto for the purpose of maintaining the case closed and for attaching it to clothing or some other suitable support. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, it is preferred that the attachment device he of safety pin formation, such as the special type of safety pin indicated 12.

For. this purpose, the opposite flap sections 13b and 13c are perforated to provide respective pairs of mutually spaced holes 18 in registering placement Within the respective flaps. The holes 18 of each pair are preferably aligned longitudinally of the respective flaps, parallel with the longitudinal edges thereof and removed inwardly therefrom, all as illustrated.

Considering the carrying case 10 to be vertically positioned in the unfolded and open condition of Figs. 6 and 7, the safety pin 12 is inserted through the pair of openings 18 of the lower flap section 1312, so that the pin member 12a and the keeper 12b thereof project from the outer face of the flap section, the back member 120 thereof overlying the inner face of the flap section between the pair of holes 18. Having appropriately inserted within pocket 17 the material 19, Fig. 5, to be carried by the case 10, the case still being in the unfolded or open condition of Figs. 6 and 7, lower flap 13b is folded up into the position shown in Fig. 5, the pin member 12a and keeper 12b of the anchored fastening device 12 projecting exteriorly, as shown.

The upper flap section 13c is then folded downwardly over the outer face of the so-positioned lower flap section 13b, being so manipulated as to pass the pin member 12a through the appropriate hole 18 of its pair of such holes, and to pass the keeper 12b through the other hole of the pair; whereupon, the carrying case is in condition for being attached to a suitable support, such as the clothing of a user.

For such attachment, it is only necessary to pass the pin member 12a through a portion of the support and to secure the free end of such pin member within its keeper, all in conventional manner. The case will then be in the protectively closed condition illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4, wherein the pocket opening 16 is protectively covered by the upper flap section 13c and the attachment pin 12 lies wholly within and behind the case proper, which latter provides a protective shield therefor against snagging.

In order to open the case 10 for access to its contents, it is only necessary to unlatch the attachment pin 12, unpin the case from its support, and disengage the upper flap section 130 from the pin members 12a and 12b. The attachment pin 12 remains in anchored position relative to the lower flap section 13b, so that there is very little danger of losing same.

The special safety pin formation of attachment pin 12 is old. A useful feature thereof resides in the bent formation of the free end or tip of its pin member 12a. As indicated at 20, Fig. 9, such free end or tip of the pin member 1201 is bent upwardly, so that, in the latched condition of the pin, it projects upwardly into the space between the opposing loop members 21 which define the hook bed of the keeper 12b. In this manner, and especially when considered in its combination with inwardly projecting crimp 22 provided intermediate the length of pin member 12a, the attachment pin 12 is made unusually secure against inadvertent unlatching, for example, when brush tends to tear the carrying case free from the outer clothing to which is is attached by a sportsman. Yet, the pin has proven to be as easy and convenient to attach to clothing and to latch into secured position as when made with the conventional, straight, free end or tip and without the accompanying crimp 22. With the unique combinational feature of upwardly directed tip and intermediate crimp, extreme pulling force applied laterally to the attached case will only serve to seat the tip of the pin member more firmly in its keeper by reason of the wedge action of the crimp. The pin will effectively resist inadvertent opening in instances where the conventional form will not.

Various re-arrangements in the dimensional relationships of the various parts of the case proper may be made for particular instances of use. For example, the individual sections of the panel or sheet may be elongate longitudinally of the panel or sheet, rather than trans versely thereof as in the specific form shown, thereby mak ing it desirable to have the pairs of holes 18 extend in rectilinear alignment longitudinally of the panel or sheet. Furthermore, in some instances, it may be preferred to permanently affix the safety pin or other fastening device to its anchorage flap section, rather than to removably anchor the same thereto as in the specific instance shown.

Whereas this invention is here illustrated and described with respect to a particular preferred form thereof, it should be understood that various changes may be made therein without departing from the generic teachings hereof or from the scope of the claims which here follow.

I claim:

1. An attachment type of foldable carrying case for visual inspection of contents, comprising a pair of panels disposed in face-to-face relationship and secured. to: gether about their margins to provide a pocket having a marginal opening for insertion and removal of contents, at least one of said panels being transparent to permit visual inspection of the contents of the pocket from the exterior of the latter; a pair of closure flaps extending from respective margins of said pocket, including that margin which comprehends said margin opening of the pocket, said flaps being foldable over the other of said pair of panels in mutually overlapping relationship; and mutually registering pairs of spaced fastening facilities provided in the respective flaps in spaced relation to the marginal edges thereof, at least one of said pairs of fastening facilities comprising means defining mutually spaced openings through the material of the particular flap concerned.

2. The carrying case of claim 1, wherein both of said pairs of fastening facilities comprise means defining mutually spaced openings through the material of the respective flaps.

3. The carrying case of claim 2, wherein the one of said panels which is transparent is intermediate the closure flaps in a straight series arrangement fabricated from a single sheet of foldable transparent material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 254,837 Paine Mar. 14, 1882 451,419 La DOW Apr. 28, 1891 712,819 Lippincott Nov. 4, 1902 1,403,087 Largman Jan. 10, 1922 1,541,496 Hauser June 9, 1925 1,545,577 Arms July 14, 1925 1,686,756 Lorber Oct. 9, 1928 1,693,006 Thomas Nov. 27, 1928 2,198,109 Fischer Apr. 23, 1940 2,447,940 Holland Aug. 24, 1948 2,594,623 Dryden Apr. 29, 1952 2,598,070 Randall May 27, 1952 

